Centre steps up support to unlock Ladakh’s High-Altitude Medicinal Plant Potential

> Rs 789.33 lakh CoE for Seabuckthorn established at Nimoo
> Rs 120.75 lakh sanctioned for seven medicinal plant projects

YASH KHAJURIA

LEH: The Centre has established a Rs 789.33-lakh Centre of Excellence for seabuckthorn at Nimoo in Leh, while Rs 120.75 lakh has been sanctioned for seven medicinal-plant projects in Ladakh over the last five years, highlighting the government’s push to develop the Union Territory’s high-altitude medicinal plant sector through cultivation, conservation, research, processing and market linkages.

The government also informed the Lok Sabha that Rs 705.11 lakh had been released to Ladakh during the past five years under the National AYUSH Mission for various approved activities and projects, of which Rs 534.24 lakh had been utilised. The details were provided by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush Prataprao Jadhav in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The government said Ladakh has considerable potential for cultivation of high-altitude medicinal plants, including seabuckthorn, Rhodiola, Artemisia and Aconitum, owing to its distinctive agro-climatic conditions and rich biodiversity.

The Seabuckthorn Centre of Excellence at Nimoo was established under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), with the project initiated in 2020-21. It is being implemented by the Department of Horticulture, UT Ladakh, with technical support from the Defence Institute of High-Altitude Research, Leh.

The facility comprises a scientific orchard, model nursery, demonstration and training facilities and a primary processing unit. It also undertakes capacity-building programmes for farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations, Self-Help Groups, women and entrepreneurs.

According to the government, the centre is intended to promote scientific cultivation and production of quality planting material, besides demonstrating primary and pilot-scale processing technologies. It will also facilitate model orchards and nurseries, develop standard packages of practices and support knowledge transfer for strengthening the seabuckthorn value chain.

The Lok Sabha reply also disclosed that seven projects had been approved by the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of Ayush, under its Central Sector Scheme for Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants during the last five years.

Of the Rs 120.75 lakh sanctioned for these projects, Rs 110.23 lakh has been released and Rs 92.98 lakh reported as utilised. The largest allocation, Rs 81 lakh, was sanctioned to the State Medicinal Plants Board, UT Ladakh, as a nucleus centre maintenance grant for 2023-24 to 2025-26. The entire sanctioned amount was released, with Rs 74.52 lakh utilised.

Another Rs 13.48-lakh project focuses on conservation status, germplasm collection and resource augmentation of priority medicinal plants in the cold deserts of Ladakh. The entire sanctioned amount was released, with Rs 13.46 lakh utilised.

A Rs 9.92-lakh project approved during 2025-26 seeks to enhance the salidroside content of Rhodiola imbricata from the cold desert of Leh Ladakh through field and in-vitro approaches. No amount had been released for the project at the time of the reply.

The other approved projects include national-level conferences and seminars on identification, conservation and management of medicinal plants, establishment of a herbal garden at the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies in Choglamsar, and research on Himalayan medicinal plants.

Under its Central Sector Scheme, the NMPB provides project-based support for quality planting material, awareness and training, post-harvest management and marketing, and quality testing and certification of medicinal plant raw material.

The scheme also provides for forward and backward linkages in the medicinal plant supply chain, livelihood linkages with community institutions and Self-Help Groups, research and development, and promotion of marketing and trade.

The NMPB has launched the e-CHARAK mobile application and web portal for promotion and marketing of medicinal plants and herbs. The platform supports multiple local languages and provides fortnightly market prices for 100 medicinal plants across 25 herbal markets in India, including Ladakh.

The Board also facilitates market linkages for farmers and collectors involved in cultivation and collection of medicinal plants. Procurement requirements of major companies, along with relevant purchase department contacts, are shared with State implementing agencies and Regional-cum-Facilitation Centres to facilitate market access.

The State Medicinal Plants Board of Ladakh has been conducting training programmes, seminars, workshops and buyer-seller meets to promote scientific cultivation, conservation and sustainable utilisation of medicinal plants.

The government said efforts were also being made in collaboration with departments and research institutions to strengthen conservation, awareness and value addition, while capacity-building programmes were being used to address constraints in cultivation and commercialisation.

The Regional-cum-Facilitation Centre North Region-II has supported the establishment of post-harvest processing and quality-testing infrastructure in Ladakh, with the stated objective of promoting sustainable cultivation and creating local employment.

The government’s reply also outlined support extended to Ladakh under the National AYUSH Mission. The Ministry of Ayush released Rs 705.11 lakh during the last five years for different approved activities and projects proposed by the UT Government through State Annual Action Plans. Of this, Rs 534.24 lakh was reported as utilised.

The Ministry clarified that there is no provision under the National AYUSH Mission for releasing funds on a district-wise basis. The mission provides for AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres and district hospitals, upgrading government AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries, supplying essential medicines, public health programmes, integrated AYUSH hospitals and infrastructure for AYUSH educational institutions.

Separately, under MIDH, financial assistance is provided to the public sector for establishment of Centres of Excellence in horticulture. Such centres serve as demonstration and training facilities for modern horticultural practices and sources of quality planting material.

The government said the seabuckthorn centre at Nimoo would serve these functions while supporting primary processing, model orchards, nurseries and capacity-building for farmers, producer organisations, Self-Help Groups, women and entrepreneurs.

The Lok Sabha reply places Ladakh’s medicinal plant sector within a broader policy framework that combines conservation of its high-altitude biodiversity with scientific cultivation, research, post-harvest processing, quality certification, market access and livelihood generation.